At the 3rd Samira Bawumia Literature Prize Awards Ceremony and Literary Night on Friday, November 6, former Second Lady and founder of the prize, Samira Bawumia, called on Ghana’s new generation of writers to preserve the country’s storytelling traditions by adapting them for contemporary audiences.
Speaking to a packed venue, Mrs Bawumia stressed that nurturing emerging literary talent was essential to ensuring that Ghana’s storytelling heritage endured. "Through their creativity, they’re giving new life to our storytelling traditions and making them relevant to another generation," she said.
She urged young people to cultivate a reading and writing culture, hoping that some of the children who attended would one day become award recipients. "I hope you will continue to read, to imagine, and perhaps one day write stories of your own. Because who knows, one day we’ll be here gathered celebrating one of you. Let’s keep reading, let’s keep writing, let’s keep sharing our stories," she added.
During the event, Mrs Bawumia recognised poet Anona Ensobila Joseph for her work “How Have We Offended God and Ourselves?”, which she performed alongside three young children. The prize’s Project Assistant, Gretel Anobey, noted that submissions had risen from 1,629 in 2020 to more than 3,000 in the latest edition.
Performances also included Ghanaian rapper Okyeame Kwame, who recounted how his collaboration with the inaugural edition of the prize during the COVID‑19 pandemic inspired him to write two books, and he later performed his 2026 track ‘Clap’. Spoken‑word poet Mohammed Jawad Baba Dua delivered a poetry performance, while Master of Ceremonies Apiorkor Seyram Ashong‑Abbey emphasised that African writers must tell their own stories to avoid danger in leaving them to others.
The night celebrated Ghanaian literature and encouraged emerging talent, with the message that storytelling traditions will survive only if they are kept alive by the next generation.
